Antennas are a critical part of every vessel. Often
ignored and much maligned, they are the mariner’s link to shore. We use
antennas for all kinds of communications and “comms” matter when things go
awry. We depend on comms for more than just emergencies, since GPS,
radar, sat radio, sat TV, AM/FM, Wi-Fi, cellular and other systems all depend
on a working antenna to accomplish their tasks.

We’ve discussed VHF antennas in past articles. This time
we will look at some of the other antennas found on boats and how they interact
with each other. The spacing guidelines published in the NMEA 0400
Installation Standard show minimum spacing recommendations for various antenna
types. These guidelines are based on theory and practice and are
guidelines only. Let’s look at why these guidelines for antenna spacing exist.

By John Barry

Radiation patterns matter

When we put a signal into an antenna, it resonates in a way
the causes a radiation from the antenna element into free air. This
radiation pattern has characteristics that are controlled by the construction
of the antenna itself and by the other conductive materials in the vicinity of
the antenna. VHF antennas are called dipole antennas. We refer to them as
vertically polarized, meaning that the radiation pattern is horizontal along
the surface of the earth. The radiation pattern from a vertically
polarized dipole antenna is donut shaped, originating from the center of the
antenna element.

Radar antennas and satellite antennas use waveguide or
parabolic antennas. The energy coming out of these antennas is cone
shaped, originating from the center of the waveguide antenna. The design
of the antenna is optimized to resonate at the appropriate frequency and direct
it in a specific radiation pattern. This represents a concentration of
the energy from the antenna in a certain direction, which we call antenna
gain. Antenna gain is not a free lunch; the radio outputs only so much
power and we can direct it, and concentrate it in a certain direction, but then
other directions are diminished. High-gain antennas are very directional,
which is good for radar (since direction matters) but can be bad for dipoles
since boats rock and roll with the seas and a directional antenna may not be
aimed close enough along the surface of the earth at all times.

TX vs RX

We have so far discussed antennas transmitting (TX).
Some of our marine systems are receive-only (RX) devices, such as GPS, sat TV,
AM/FM, etc. These antennas have the same characteristics of gain and
directionality as all antennas. Construction and placement have
equivalent effects on both TX and RX antennas. Typically receive-only antennas
are high gain and attached to a very sensitive receiver that is trying to
receive weak signals from far away. Since these sensitive devices are in
close proximity to our transmitting antennas, they are susceptible to
interference. A good example of this is the GPS receive antenna, which
must not be within the beam of a transmitting radar antenna.

Generally, an antenna is happy in free air, outside of the
transmission path of other antennas. Putting an antenna on top of a
sailboat mast accomplishes this—all other locations are a compromise! Radar
antennas have a predictable path of transmission. Sat comm antennas, like
sat phones, VSAT (very small aperture terminals), Fleet Broadband, etc. have
highly directional transmissions that stay locked on the satellite, so the
transmission path is all over the place from straight up to a down-look
angle.

Both radar and sat comms are radiation hazards and require
separation from crew spaces. The NMEA 0400 Installation Standard states:
“Traditional pulse style radar antennas shall be located so that the radar beam
is above the spaces occupied by vessel crew and passengers.”

Minimizing interference

Sometimes the boat can accommodate the antennas using the
guidelines from NMEA 0400. Some boats have lots of options for mounting
antennas with correct spacing; most boats, however, do not. To say that a
compromise is always necessary is true. Understanding how antennas work
and how interference problems manifest themselves is how these compromises are
accomplished with minimum degradation of signals. Some devices are more
susceptible than others and some transmissions are more harmful than
others. The frequency and power matter here.

Antennas operating at the same frequency as each other are
very susceptible to interference and must be widely separated. NMEA's 0400
guidelines are for horizontal separation distances, including rules and
exceptions. In crowded antenna installations it may be necessary to separate
the antennas vertically. Because dipole antennas transmit horizontally,
they create very little energy above and below the antenna
location. Vertical separation is often the key to solving interference
problems between two antennas. For example, SOLAS (international regulations
governing most large commercial vessels under the auspices of the Safety of
Life at Sea convention) requires a 6 foot vertical separation between the AIS
(Automatic Identification System) antenna and the VHF antenna.

Any piece of metal will act as an antenna. Rails,
arches, masts, rigging, wiring and a plethora of other metal objects found on
boats can interfere with an antenna’s radiation pattern. Radio waves do
not act like DC current or 60 Hz AC current. RF (radio frequency) energy
will reflect, bend and be absorbed by RF conductors. If we could see
radio waves, we would see that they are all in the same space with different
strengths depending on resonance and conduction. It is quite amazing that
these devices work as well as they do. Performance can be optimized by
careful antenna placement.

About the author

John Barry is a marine electronics dealer located in Pleasant Prairie, Wisconsin. His company, Technical Marine Support Inc., is on the western side of Lake Michigan. He also instructs NMEA’s technical training courses and writes a regular column for Marine Electronics Journal. He says there are four topics that seem to stick out in those training sessions—radars, autopilots, data and radios.

Hard-Over with Brushed APilot Pump:(12/18/2017 5:37:05 PM) "Jim.What do you mean by ...."Garmin GHP 20 with SmartPump...Because it is a brushless system, it is fail-safe and won’t execute a hard-over turn the way a brushed pump can."

John,Thanks for the note. Since the description came from Garmin I contacted the company for an explanation. Here's what one of their engineers told me:

On brushed DC actuators, a single-point failure in the drive circuit (shorted wire or blown component inside the controller) could cause the motor to run full speed in one direction and take the rudder all the way to one rail. A brushless actuator relies on timing-controlled commutation, so a short or component fail would cause the actuator to stop moving rather than moving at full speed.

Hope this helps,

Jim"

trawlerdeejay:(10/13/2017 3:46:51 PM) "Excellent article. I had no idea what the differences were between o183 and 2000, Thank you so much."

Darryl:(3/27/2017 10:17:15 PM) "Putting the MSRP with each unit reviewed would have been helpful. If each unit was actually tested, the reports on each unit would have been helpful too.

Thanks Darryl---we generally don't mention prices due to confusion over so many variations---MSRP (mfg. suggested retail price), MAP (min. advertised price), MRP (min. resale price) and then there are internet prices on some websites that go their own way. But your point is well taken--buyers need to know if something is in their price range. We'll work on it.There is independent testing of some of these products on sites like panbo.com but the information we receive from manufacturers rarely cites the results of any shootouts they may conduct against the competition's products. "

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Great job and keep updating!

RegardsLaurie Seiberthttp://www.lcr-inc.com/"

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